96 Millet and veggie balls

Who would’ve thought that vegetarian balls can be so tasty? Few weeks ago, I promised myself to include more grains, groats and oats in my diet. How much healthier a meal becomes, if I replace white rice, for instance, with barley.
To be honest, I never used to eat much millet. My mum didn’t used to make it for us when we were kids, so naturally and understandably – I wouldn’t include it in my diet as an adult. It wasn’t until I moved in with my friend Zuza, when I discovered that millet is so tasty! It was when we were high school students, we must’ve been 17 or 18 years old. One day I saw Zuza making herself something to eat in the kitchen. I asked her what she’s eating because it sure smelled nice. She said she’s making millet with raisins. You should’ve seen my face! I was really surprised that someone can even consider millet as a potential breakfast. She gave me some to try and that was it: my long and bumpy journey to eating healthy had begun.

Unfortunately, I’m not introducing the recipe for a famous millet &raisins (still waiting for Zuza to make it for me again ^^). This time, I am presenting vegan veggieballs, made with millet and vegetables. Don’t get discouraged by a vegan or vegetarian twist, they are so good that even the biggest meat lovers should find them worth trying. Let me know what you think!

MILLET AND VEGGIE BALLS

INGREDIENTS
200g millet
1 carrot
1 parsnip
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
oil for frying
75g porridge oats
salt
pepper
fresh parsley

HOW TO MAKE?
1. Add the millet to a sieve and rinse thoroughly under cold water. Boil some water with a pinch of salt in a saucepan. When the water is boiling, add millet and cook for about 5 minutes. Take off the heat, cover the saucepan with a lid and leave for about 20 minutes, so the millet can absorb the rest of the water.

2. Peel carrot and parsnip and then grate it. Peel and finely chop the onion. Cook carrot, parsnip and onion together on a frying pan with a bit of oil. When the veg is softened, take off the heat and leave to cool down.

3. Using a blender or coffee grinder, process the porridge oats until they become more of a powder than oats.

4. Add cooked millet to a sieve, to get rid of any excess water. Wait a minute or two, letting the water to strain. Now, add the cooked millet into a big bowl, mixing it with the previously cooked vegetables. Add crushed garlic and finely chopped parsley. Add salt, pepper and any other spices if you like. Mix everything well, adding ground porridge oats at the same time.

5. Now time for making balls. That’s where it gets tricky. First, drizzle a wooden board with oil or olive oil and spread it evenly. That’s our surface for lining up ready veggie balls. Cover your hands with oil to make it easier to shape the balls without them sticking to your hands. Take about a teaspoon of the millet and veg mix and roll the ball. Try to be quick, otherwise the mixture will start sticking to your hands and the ball with fall apart. Yes, it can get pretty frustrating but you’ll get there.

6. When all the balls are nicely shaped, time for frying them. Another tricky one: the oil will splash in all directions when the balls are being fried. One, wear an apron to protect your clothes. Two, don’t get your eyes anywhere close to the frying pan. Three, don’t fry them on a high heat, keep it medium.

7. Fry the balls on both sides, make sure to flip them halfway through frying. When fried, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon to a wire rack, so we can get rid of any excess oil. Voila!

8. Beautiful vegan veggieballs, and homemade!

Smacznego,
aho